Foredown Tower, Portslade

In
1900 plans were drawn up for enlarging Foredown Hospital (also known as the
Isolation Hospital). The following is an extract from H.H. Scott’s report dated
19 August 1903; he was Hove’s Borough Surveyor and the plans were for Hove
Council.

At
present the Hospital is supplied with water from a cistern of 1,000 gallons
capacity, situated in the roof of the administration building, the water being
pumped into this from a tank in the ground by means of a windmill. This cistern
is, however, not high enough to supply the new ward pavilion nor is it large
enough for the requirements of the Hospital if extended, and it is now proposed
to erect an elevated tank having a capacity of 31,000 gallons in the north west
corner of the Hospital ground, which is its highest point. The tank will be of
cast iron 32 feet by 28 feet by 6 feet deep, supported on brickwork and fitted
with a galvanized iron roof; the bottom of the tank will be 29 feet above
ground level. It is proposed to put an intermediate floor in the tower, and
this, together with the ground floor, will provide excellent storage space.
From the tank the water will gravitate to the various buildings through a
2-inch main, upon which it is proposed to place three hydrants for use in case
of fire.

In
July 1904 the estimated cost of constructing the water tower was put at £1,460
plus the cost of the mains. Originally, Messrs Peerless, Dennis & Co of
Langney Road, Eastbourne were going to build the tower but there was a dispute
about the contract and so in 1909 the work was given to Hove firm Messrs J.
Parsons & Sons instead.

The
well-known ironworks of Every at Lewes was given the task of constructing the
tank; it was made of 20 mm thick cast iron panels with flanged and bolted
joists and internal stays. The tank could hold 27,500 gallons of water (less
than the recommendation by the borough surveyor) and the weight exerted a
pressure of 123 tons on the structure. This meant that the tower had to be very
strongly built and indeed the walls were 27 inches thick. In 1990 when a survey
of the tower was undertaken, it was found to be sound with no sign of
distortion. As a measure of the stoutness of the walls, it is amusing to note
that when an opening was required it took a day and a half to achieve despite
the use of the most modern equipment.

Saving
Foredown Tower

Foredown Hospital closed in the 1980s and Persimmon Homes acquired the ten-acre site
with a view to constructing housing. They had no use for the water tower but
Tony Gimpson, director of Persimmon Homes, was prepared to let Hove Council
have it for a small consideration if the tower could be put to community use.

The
idea behind saving the tower arose from a conversation between, Tony Gimpson,
Paul Briault (architect) and Peter Martin, Gordon Sommerville and Dr John
Packman on behalf of Hove Council.

There
was no shortage of ideas but finance was the main stumbling block. However,
Peter Martin did meet with a favourable response from Peter Hall,
vice-president of American Express, who was prepared to donate £20,000 from
their community budget. Once this offer had been made, it became slightly
easier to obtain additional funding; thus the Countryside Commission gave
£30,000, Hove Council gave £48,500 while East Sussex County Council chipped in
with £5,000. This was still not enough to get the project under way but then
American Express increased their grant to £35,000 with a promise of £5,000 for
the next five years.

One
of the ideas for the use of the tower was to make it the base of the Hove
Downland Ranger and also a countryside centre. (This is where the grant from
the Countryside Commission came in).

The
most innovative idea was to install a camera obscura in Foredown Tower. The
camera came from the Gateshead Garden Festival and David Sinden had built it
especially for them at a cost of £125,000. Hove Council purchased the camera
for £30,000.

When
the camera came to be installed, it was discovered that the tower was somewhat
short of the ideal, which meant the lens had to be re-ground.

On
15 April 1991 the camera obscura was in action at Portslade for the first time
and the topping-out ceremony also took place on the same day. In July 1991
Councillor Audrey Buttimer, Mayor of Hove, cut the ribbon and Foredown Tower
was officially open. Peter Hall and Councillor Peter Martin were photographed
standing by the viewing dish. Unfortunately, the weather was misty on opening
day, which blurred the image on the viewing dish.

In
the first six months there were some 6,000 visitors.

In
2014 the public can still visit the camera obscura on Tuesdays and Thursdays
and it is in action once an hour from 12 noon to 3 p.m.

Other
Attractions

Foredown
Tower needed to be attractive to visitors whatever the weather. In May 1992 an
advanced computer system was installed to help educate and entertain them. The
scheme cost £23,000 and it was a joint effort between American Express and Hove
Council.

Also
in May 1992 there was an exhibition of old photographs of Portslade and
Hangleton while in July 1993 Brian McClave was the artist in residence and he
held photographic workshops during August.

In
1992 Foredown Tower won a Civic Trust Award and in November of the same year it
was highly commended by the Royal Institute of British Architects in its
Downland Design Awards. A Diploma of Merit from Europa Nostra soon followed
with the citation reading For the imaginative conversion and re-use of a
redundant Water Tower to stimulate an understanding of the countryside and the
South Downs. In June 1993 Peter Hall from American Express and Councillor
Peter Martin, Mayor of Hove, unveiled a plaque commemorating the latter award
at the tower.

In
August 1994 Admiral Sir Lindsay Bryson, Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, opened
a new water sculpture depicting the water cycle sponsored by Southern Water
Services.

Meanwhile
work went on to clear footpaths and replace gates and stiles in the surrounding
countryside. These were marked with colour-coded arrows that tied in with walks
of varying distances outlined in leaflets on sale at the tower. A pond was
created in the grounds and populated with frogs and newts while a nearby
dewpond was restored.

In
1993 a weather station was established at the tower. In July 1994 it revealed
that during the heat wave the ozone levels reached twice the amount set out by
the World health Organisation. Sad to relate the advanced computer system,
water sculpture and weather station are no longer in operation at the tower.

Escalating
Costs

In
January 1994 it was stated that the cost of running the tower was likely to
rise from an estimated £36,960 a year to an actual figure of £69,140. The
estimate for the next year was put at £72,170.

By
January 1998 it was decided the tower should keep winter opening hours all the
year through because during the summer an average of only twenty-five people
visited during the early part of the week. The tower would be open between
Thursday and Sunday but it could open at other times for special events or
school visits. Staff could then spend time on developing educational projects.

Mike
Feist, interpretive officer at the tower, demonstrated the camera obscura and
he became so immersed in the subject that in 1995 he produced his own Pocket
Guide to Camera Obscuras of Britain and the World. He initiated an archive
on the subject at the tower that was constantly updated. He also produced a
newsletter that was despatched worldwide, the first being sent in June 1995
while number 83 had been reached by August 1999.

Astronomy
was another of Mike Feist’s interests. The subject had fascinated him ever
since his schooldays when he lived in Preston Road, Brighton, and his father
gave him a second-hand book entitled Descriptive Astronomy.

The
tower was open during the solar eclipses in 1994, 1996 and 11 August 1999 as
well as for the lunar eclipses in 1996, 1997 and 2001. Then there was the
chance to view the comet Hyakutake in 1996 and the comet Hale Bopp in 1997.

In
September 1998 Mike Feist set up the Foredown Tower Astronomy Group. When it
was first advertised he had no idea how much interest there would be and he was
astonished when around 100 people applied for the 50 available places. It was
aimed at amateur enthusiasts and deliberately avoided complex theories. No more
could be accommodated because of fire precaution regulations. As a result there
was a waiting list and if you neglected to pay your subscription, the place
went to one of those waiting to join.

For
the solar eclipse on 11 August 1999 members of the public were advised to bring
their own safety glasses to view the event and Mile Feist was on hand to give
advice and information. There was a great deal of interest when Mrs B. Hogg of
Hove donated a pair of special glasses made from an early form of plastic with
which she viewed the total eclipse in 1927; she was living in north Wales at
the time. Her father said to her ‘You might still be alive for the next one in
1999.’

Around
200 people descended on the tower for the eclipse and although the day started
off with clouds, the skies soon cleared and the start of the eclipse was
visible on the camera obscura. When the sun moved out of view, people went
outside with special glasses or pinhole projectors. The maximum was reached at
around 11.20 a.m. when daylight became dim and Venus could be observed shining
brightly below the sun. There was a decided chill in the air that lasted for
some time. The council promoted an archive of the big event that is kept at the
tower.

In
April 2001 the group looked at Saturn and Jupiter and the Mir space
station before it crashed into the Pacific.

It
is pleasant to relate that in 2014 the group is still in existence although
they now prefer the title of Foredown Tower Astronomers. They meet on the third
Thursday of every month in the Revive Café at Emmaus.Today, Portslade Aldridge Community Academy have taken over the
responsibility of running Foredown Tower. For information on opening days and times of camera obscura demonstrations, see this website:- Foredown Tower Learning & Visitor Centre.

Foredown
Tower is approached from the west although to enter you must walk around to the
door on the east side. There are red bricks at the base of the tower and in the
arch of the doorway; some of which appear to have been glazed. There is an
unexpected dripstone moulding around the arch of the doorway. The rest of the
bricks are of yellow or variegated colouring. Resting on the bricks and on top
of a sandstone plinth is the iron water tank with its weight pressing down on
the sheet of lead that provides the seal.

The
staff made most of the exhibits. For example, Louise Bristow constructed some
beautiful models of insects including a spectacular dragonfly. Schoolchildren
express delight at seeing them.

Christiane
Berridge made an intricate and interesting model of Read’s Supply Stores in the
High Street of Portslade Old Village with various items displayed for sale and
the hoist in use. She also created a seaside scene with different activities
taking place.

Paula
Huntbach, senior interpretive officer, and Christiane’s sister, painted the
backdrop. They are the daughters of well-known Portslade artist Barrie Huntbach
who painted the mural in Portslade Town Hall and died in November 2006.

There
was also a good model of the ruins of Portslade Manor plus an information panel
about the wooden henge at Portslade discovered before the Brighton bypass was
constructed.

Financial
Pressures

The
future of Foredown Tower looked very precarious in 2008. Indeed Brighton &
Hove Council wished to shut it down with immediate effect because it needed at
least £112,000 to meet current safety standards as well as making it accessible
for disabled people. Closing the tower would save £20,000 a year; the tower was
placed on the For Sale list. But following an outcry, councillors
performed a U-turn and decided the tower would remain open. But as it turned
out, it was only for a short time.

By
September 2008 it was stated that the sum needed to put the tower in good order
was £200,000. But the council hoped they had come up with a solution by leasing
the tower for a peppercorn rent for a period of 25 years to Hove & Adur Sea
Cadets to use as their headquarters. The group could then make a better bid for
funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

By
May 2010 it was clear the arrangement had not worked out as hoped. Ian Wright,
chairman of Hove & Adur Sea Cadets, said they had started off in good faith
with a business plan based on a large number of visitors and a high level of
spending. But this had not happened and it had also become much more difficult
to secure funding. The cadets had since found an alternative site.

It
was a shame that under this cloud of uncertainty, Foredown Tower celebrated its
100th anniversary on Saturday 15 August 2009. Paula Wrighton, museum
learning officer, who has worked at the tower since it opened in 1991 commented
‘It would be a great shame to lose it, especially so close to its 100th
anniversary.’

On
31 March 2010 a great swathe of the South Down was officially recognised as a
new National Park. Hopes revived that perhaps the tower might become a gateway
to the park.

On
9 December 2011 Mike Weatherley M.P. cut the ribbon at Foredown Tower and after
being lost to the public for three years, it was now open for business again.
Its status was as a learning and visitor centre run by Portslade Learning
Community CIC. By 2014 the name had changed to Portslade Adult Learning CIC and
various courses were run at the tower with public access to the camera obscura
on two days a week.